Categories: Classics

I call America a nation of “Missers”—people who avoid collisions through blind luck rather than awareness and talent—NOT "Drivers". Sure, there are exceptions, but we are few and far between. It is for this and who knows how many other misguided reason(s) that the government is mandating more and more “driver aids” (aka Idiot Over-Riders) tacked onto vehicles already stuffed with them in the name of "safety".

I’ve railed—admittedly, usually to myself—that the emphasis should be on driver education, not on adding electronics that make it possible for the worst-of-the-worst to not die in solo-car accidents like they should, to, as my dad would say, "thin the herd." Pumping money into education and training helps stop collisions from occurring, while the majority of electrissical bits are there to only mitigate how damaged you'll be after the fact.

I bring this up (here, anyway) only to at least tweak your thinking on what’s safe, both for you and your pocketbook.

[Here’s a hint: If you're a Driver, you were pretty much better off before today's big push towards “active” seatbelts, airbags, Traction- and Stability Control and…]

Several decades ago, Mitsubishi actually made exciting cars. They had names like Eclipse GSX, Galant VR-4, 3000GT/GTO, Conquest/Starion, Lancer Evolution, and the turbocharged Mirage Cyborg-R. But one of the more obscure models was a JDM sport coupe called the Mitsubishi FTO. It was hip, fun to drive, and it had the cutest little 2-liter V6 you've ever seen. So let's have a look at yet another sporty Mitsubishi that you've never heard of...

The History Channel has a lot of great shows that are fun to watch. They are not just centered around academic types telling stories about old battles. The most popular shows bring the past into the present through things that were made many years ago.

So, let’s say you read my article on the BTTF DeLorean (Seriously. Say it.) and found that either the going rate for a film-fake—or the car itself—was not for you. But you still want to have something Tinsel-Townie to parade in front of your friends. What can you do?

Well, have I got a deal (or three) for you! Sure, the silver screen they (sort of) appeared on was smaller—and usually less silver—but that doesn’t (necessarily) mean that TV-used cars should be worth any less (even though they are).

Here we have two cars from Branson Auctions’ Spring 2014 sale, April 11-12 in Branson, MO, and one from Barrett-Jackson’s Palm Beach 2014 sale in—this is too easy—Palm Beach, FL, the same weekend. From these two auction houses come three distinct types of made-for-TV cars: a replica of a car everyone knows, an actual movie prop that might be a little famous, and a similarly real-deal vehicle from a show evenIdidn’t know ever existed.

Sure, they're not the most famous of cars—and the one here that is most famous is a fake—but when you're looking for star-quality cars on a Second Director's Assistant's budget, well, fame has its price. And you can't afford it. So...

The Indianapolis 500 is an almost mythical event that holds a great deal of importance in the American psyche. It is like the Super Bowl of automobile racing, with the event taking place on the hallowed grounds of Indianapolis Motor Speedway in our nation's heartland. If you win a car race, that's good. If you win the Indianapolis 500, you are a made man (or woman) forever.

When it comes to car-nerd-ery, I’m a 100-percent Christine Plymouth person, but I can see the appeal in owning a sorta-kinda Back to the Future DeLorean like the one not sold at Branson Auctions’ Spring (April 11-12) 2014 sale in—you guessed it—Branson, MO.

These kinds of cars seem to run a traditional route from private listings to eBay Motors and then to places like this, a medium-sized real-time auction in the Midwest. Heck, you can even buy one “new” from several places that I will mention later. And apart from the $541k—yes, you read that right—one-and-only authentic-and-in-private-hands movie-used DeLorean extant, there's a pretty established market with an equally-established average price.

At $62,500 this lot was smack where it should have been price-wise. Why didn’t it sell? I can only assume—as I will in a second—but I'm cool with that if you are. As for now, know this: I think that the owner of this BTTF replica would like to go back in time, take that bid and run. Then again, that would mean his DeLorean time-machine actually works, which would make even half-a-million bucks seem worth less than .01 jigawatts…

Summer is right around the corner, and it is time to start making vacation plans. There are big cities that naturally come to mind when you are planning a trip, but you may want to dig a little bit deeper and broaden your horizons.

Going on a vacation, even if it is for a long weekend, is something we all live for. If you love classic cars, there is nothing like taking your ride for a ride when you have time off, and the getaway itself is the ultimate payoff.